The Australian skipper has executed outstanding back-to-back hundreds to steer her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the duo put on 202 runs followed possibly the team's shoddiest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the victory, which places her undefeated team at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the spinners thrived, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
